20 Great Things About Being 11

You may think being 11 years old was a dull, boring, childish time, but we're about to change your mind...

1. The Harry Potter series starts when Harry, Hermione, and Ron are 11 years old. Basically, that means 11 is the year you start learning magic and facing death all the time.

2. For many of you, 11 was the year elementary school ended and middle school began. You ruled the school in one half of the year and then conquered a whole new world in the second. You didn't realize it at the time, but that was impressive.

3. Z'OH MAH GOBSTOPPERS! SCHOOL DANCES! Many junior high and middle schools have co-ed socials and dances. This was a casual, new experience that didn't require a fancy prom dress. Plus there was no pressure to bring a date.

4. The magical wish-making time is 11:11. Your wishes came extra true when you were 11.

5. Sleepovers. There was nothing more fun than a sleepover when you are 11. Remember how difficult it was to stay awake until midnight?

6. It was a great time to experiment with glitter... in your hair, on paper, on your nails... EVERYWHERE! The only people who can get away with that much glitter are 11-year-olds and pop stars. That's it.

7. It was a good time to experiment with your tastes. For many people, it was the year that pizza and chicken nuggets stopped being the only food worth looking at. But now that you have a more sophisticated palate, you realize pizza and chicken nuggets are still pretty great.

8. The more magazine photos plastered on your wall, the more people wanted to sleep over. And if you remember reason #5, this was very, very important.

9. You could read more magazines! When you became 11, it seemed like the choices of reading material on the newsstand became endless (or more like, you got more variety when before it was just Highlights and Ranger Rick). Now you could page through more mature magazines and learn about shoes, makeup, and what celebrities look like through a zoom lens.

10. Asking your BFF to come over to dance in your room and play Mario Kart made you the most awesome friend EVER. And identifying your BFF is easy thanks to those handy, homemade bracelets.

11. Your level of sophistication (when it came to what you liked) was based on a fine line. It may have been totally out of the question to use Strawberry Shortcake toothpaste but it could be perfectly okay to still love Fruit Gushers. The best part was that it was completely up to you to decide when to be a kid and when to be a hip, cool teen.

12. You got to start reading from the Young Adult section. And lucky for you, there were so many things to read about. Hated young wizards? Fine— you could read about dragons and wallflowers instead. Hated that too? You could read about the coolest BFFs in the whole world and puberty. And it goes on and on and on...

13. Harriet the Spy: probably the coolest 11-year-old ever, depending on how high you rank Harry Potter.

14. You learned responsibility. You could finally babysit! But you could probably only babysit your siblings, and only for a few minutes while your mom or dad went to the store. But still...you were finally a babysitter!!!

15. No one understands the value of good old-fashioned letter-writing like an 11-year-old. Writing notes to friends was an art, and the more awesome the pens, the greater the masterpiece.

16. You started to develop a sense of humor, and joke-telling became a little easier.

17. Your school projects became more challenging and complicated, but also a lot more fun. Admit it: you miss making that edible mitochondria, and three-story diorama model based on Ella Enchanted.

18. You didn't have to join a gym or go to fitness boot camp. Your everyday activities like kickball, hula hooping, and jumping rope kept you fit as a fiddle.

19. The mall will never be as awesome and grand as it was when you were 11. The freedom, the choices, the candy, the colors... it almost makes you want to head to the galleria now. Almost.

20. Lockers. This was likely the year that you started having one. You learned how fun they were except for the times that you were halfway into class and realized you brought in the wrong homework. Still, decorating them was fun, right?